Electric shaver



July 7, V1942.A f L. E. DETTLE 2,289,323

` ELECTRIC sHAvEn Filed Feb. 13, 1939 IN VENTOR.

BY G@ ATTORNEY.

`Patented July 7, 1942 UNITED STATES .PAT

ENT oFFIcE 2 Claims. This invention relates to shavers of the typedesigned for the removal of a beard from the human face without theemployment of lather.

One of the requisites of any shaver of this general type is that theskinengaging comb or guard be sufficiently thin to enable the hairs to beclipped close to the surface of the skin, otherwise, a close shave isnot obtainable. In shavers whichemploy a reciprocatory cutter, thecutter itself is usually utilized as a support for the comb or guard. Inshavers employing an oscillatory cutter, the guard is bent into arcuateform over curved supporting means. In both instances some form ofsupport in addition to the guard itself is required to maintain theguard against deformation under pressure against the skin n use. 1

One of the purposes of my present invention is to provide a novel typeof guard for ashaver which, while made of metal of suiiicient thinnessto enable the attainment of a close shav`e, po`sG sesses, because of itscharacter and shape, maximum strength and consequent resistance againstdeformation in use. Y Dry shavers comprise essentially a` casing inwhich the drive mechanism is mounted and a cutter head carried by thecasing. The 'asngs are elongated in form andfof various designs carryingthe cutting head at one end thereof, but the guard which determines theline along which the shaving cut is made extends transversely of thecasing, that is, the line of vcut is disposed at right angles to thelongitudinall axis of the casing. This arrangement is somewhat awkwardfor the user and precludes the`delicacy or touch which is inherent inthe old straight `blade type of razor because of the manner in which itcan be held between the thumb and the fingers.

Another purpose of my present invention is to provide a dry shaver inwhich the line of cut is disposed parallel with, instead of at rightangles to, the longitudinal. axis of the casing, thereby enabling theshaver to be held between the thumb and fingers similarly to a straightblade razor. This natural way of holding the shaver contributes toward adelicacy of touch and a satisfaction in its use unobtainable with othershavers in which the cutting head extends transversely of the casing.

Another purpose of my invention is to provide a shaver which will besmall in size, compact in assembly, one which number of to will'comprisea minimum parts, one which will be economical manufacture andoperate andwhich can be readily disassembled and reassembled when necessary.

Another purpose is to provide a shaver with a plurality of cutters whichwhen in operation will be maintained in cutting contact with theinterior walls of the surrounding cylindrical guard so as to insure aclipping of the hairs projecting through the guard, and which because ofthe employment of a plurality of cutters will enable the motor to run ata slower speed than is practical with shavers employing only a singlecutter.

Another purpose is to provide a tubular guard, any portion of theperimeter of which may be presented against the skin for shavingpurposes, thereby obviating the necessity of holding a small or narrowguard in a predetermined position with respect to the skin in order toobtain satisfactory shaving results.

A further feature of my invention resides in the provision of means forcontinuously expelling the clipped hairs from the interior of the guardas the shaving progresses, thereby avoiding an accumulation of hairswithin the guard and obviating the necessity of frequent removal of theguard for cleaning purposes. y

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of roy-inventionshould be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following description when considered in connectionwith the accompanying drawing.

Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a shaver embodying myinvention, the guard being shown in elevation;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view on the 1ine2-2 of Fig.1

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2 showingone type of cutter;

Figs. 4 and 5 are similar views showing modified forms of the cutter;

Fig. 6 is a view similar modified construction; andv Fig. 7 is asectional view on the line 'l-'l of Fig. 6. Y

Referring to the drawing more in detail, reference character 8designates generally a cylindrical casing made of synthetic compositionor other material ,capable oi' being molded, the casing being elongatedand provided at one end with a longitudinally extending, tubular sleeveto Fig. 2 showing a 9 for the reception of the inner end of the tubularguard Il. The opposite end of the casing is closed by a removableclosure member l2 adapted to be threaded into position and provided withchannels for the reception of the electric wires I3 and I4 leading tothe motor field which is connected by suitable wiring with the brushesI5 and I6, respectively, mounted in the casing.

The closure member I2 also carries the motor shaft journal I1 and theend thrust ball bearing I8 for the motor shaft I9 carrying the usualcommutator 2I and the rotor segments 22 of an ordinary electric motor.The stator 23 of the motor is mounted in the case 8 surrounding therotor in the usual manner and the opposite end of the motor shaft I9projects through a suitable bearing 24 carried by a ring 25 in thecasing wall 26.

Upon the projecting end of the motor shaft, the head 21 of a spoolshaped blade carrier is xedly mounted by means of a set screw 28 orother means of attachment, and when such a set screw is employed, thesleeve 9 and the guard II are provided with suitably aligned apertures29 and 3l, respectively, through which access to the set screw may behad by means of a suitably shaped tool or wrench. The blade carrier isprovided at its outer end with a disk shaped head 32, and pivot rods 33and 34 extending between the heads 32 and 21 of the carrier affordpivotalbearings upon which the ears 35, formed at the ends of the angleshaped cutters 36, are pivotally mounted. Upon rotation of the carrierby the motor shaft I9 with which it is directly connected, Vthe cutters36 are urged by centrifugal force into cooperative cutting relation withthe inner surface of the surrounding guard II. If desired, torsionsprings 31 may be employed to augment/the action of centrifugal force.

In Fig. 3, assuming that the blade carrier rotates in a clockwisedirection, the cutting portions of the cutters are disposed rearwardlyof the pivot rods 33 and 34. In Fig. 4, the position of the cutters isreversed so that the cutting portions travel in advance of the pivotrods. In Fig. 5 a somewhat different type of cutter, designated byreference character 38, is disclosed. The particular design of thecutters, however, is of secondary importance, as any type which willsatisfactorily cooperate with the tubular guard may be utilized.

The guard II in accordance with my invention is a very thin drawn metaltube provided throughout its circumferential walls with suitablyarranged hair-receiving openings 39 of any preferred selected size andconfiguration. These holes, when the guard is pressed against and movedalong the surface of the skin, permit the hairs to project therethroughinto position to be clipped off by the revolving cutters, which inconjunction with the edges of the holes, provide opposed shearing edgeswhich rapidly and `cleanly clip olf the inwardly projecting hairs at theinner surface of the tubular guard wall. The length of the uncut hairsprojecting from the skin is determined by the thickness of the walls ofthe guard, and in the present instance because of the tubular shape ofthe guard, these walls may be of minimum thickness and still possess therequisite strength and rigidity to preclude deformation or bending outof round when lightly pressed against the skin.

This tubular guard is an important feature of my invention, since byreason of its shape and character, a' guard wall of minimum thicknessmay be employed which because of its thinness enables the hairs to becut very close to the skin and provides a closer shave than isattainable with other shavers with which I am familiar. Because thisguard extends longitudinally from one end of the elongated casing, theuser may grasp the casing between his thumb and fingers and move theguard transversely across the skin with a movement very Similar to thatemployed in using an ordinary straight razor. Furthermore, anycircumferential sector of the guard may be presented to the skin,thereby obviating the necessity of maintaining a narrow guard in adenite position with respect to the skin. An ease in handling, adelicacy of touch and a uniformity in the closeness of the shave aretherefore obtainable to a far greater degree than is possible withShavers employing a narrow guard extending transversely instead oflongitudinally of the casing.

The guard is closed at its outer end and strengthened againstdeformation by a closure cap 4I having a flange 42 snugly fitting theinterior of the outer end of the guard. The cap is also provided with aseries of perforations 43,

preferably larger than the guard openings 39 through Ywhich the clippedhairs may be discharged from the interior of the guard during operationby a current of air blown through the guard by a fan or blower 44mounted upon the motor shaft. The air is drawn into the casing by thefan 44 through openings 45 formed in the casing cap I2, passes aroundthe motor to cool the same, and is delivered into the guard through aseries of passages 46 formed in the wall 26 of the casing. In thismanner not only is the motor kept cool in operation, but the clippedhairs are continuously expelled from the tubular guard, thus preventingan accumulation therein which would interfere with the efficientoperation of the cutters. Furthermore, frequent removal of the guard forthe purpose of cleaning out the clipped hairs is obviated.

The guard should extend into the sleeve 9 a sufficient distance andshould t sufficiently snugly therein to securely maintain the guard inconcentric co-axial relation with the motor shaft and blade carrier. Itmay be secured in position in any preferred manner, and in Figs. 1 and 2I have shown, for illustrative purposes, the guard as being provided atopposite sides with a bayonet slot 41 adapted to cooperate with a pin 48projecting inwardly from the sleeve 9. An expansion spring 49 interposedbetween the wall 26 and a, disk 5I urges the guard outwardly to maintainthe locking relation between the guard and the sleeve. Longitudinalpressure exerted upon the guard toward the casing will compress thespring 49 sufficiently to permit disconnection of the guard from thecase by slight rotary movement, whereupon the guard may be slipped offover the blade carrier to permit access to the blades when occasionrequires.

In the form of my invention shown in Figs. 6 and 1, the motor shaft I9is provided with a squared extension 52 projecting substantially to theouter end of the guard, in this instance indicated by referencecharacter 53. The blade carrier 54 is cored throughout its length toslidingly fit the shaft extension 52 and may be slipped over the end ofthe shaft and slid into position. The carrier is provided withoppositely opening grooves 55 adapted to receive the elongated at cutterblades 56. These blades if loosely inserted into the slots will, uponrotation of the carrier, be urged into cutting relation with thesurrounding guard by centrifugal force. If

desired, however, light springs may be interposed aasaaaa A between'thebottoms of the slots and the blades, as indicated by referencecharacters 51.

In this form of the invention, the guard 53 serves to hold the carrieragainst longitudinal .displacement from the shaft and also providesV 4anannular shoulder 6| disposed in alignment with the body of the carrierto prevent the carrier from endwise displacement on the shaft.

The guard is rigidly and detachably connected with the sleeve 9 of thecasing in this instance by cooperating threads 62 formed on theperimeter of the thickened inner end of the guard and upon the interiorof the sleeve 9, respectively. The guard may be threaded into the sleeveuntil the requisitely snug but non-binding t between the bearing block59 and the end of the motor shaft is attained, whereupon the guard maybe locked in this adjusted position by a lock ring 63. By loosening thelock ring and unthreading the guard, the guard may be withdrawn from thecasing permitting access to the blades and the carrier, which carriermay also then be disconnected from the motor shaft, if desired, bysimply withdrawing it endwise from the shaft.

My invention, its mode of operation, and its advantageous featuresshould be apparent from the foregoing without further description, andwhile 4I have shown and described those embodirier disposed within saidguard porting ears offset from the plane of said ments which at presentseem preferable, it should be understood that the structural details arecapable of considerable modication and variation within the scope of theinvention as dened in the following claims.

I claim:

1. An electric shaver comprising a casing, a motor mounted therein, atubular guard'projecting longitudinally from the casing in co-axialalignment with the motor, said guard having thin, skin-engaging,circumferential walls provided with hair-receiving openings, a carrierdisvposed within said 'guard and directly connected -to the motorshaftfor rotation thereby, pivot rods extending longitudinally of the carrierailel with the axis of rotation thereof, and cutters each comprising anelongated blade and supblade and pivoted on said rods to permit pivotalmovement of said blades into cutting relation with said guard uponrotation of the carrier.

2. An electric shaver comprising a casing, an electric motor mountedtherein, a. tubular guard projecting longitudinally from the casing incoaxial alignment with the motor, a rotatable carand connected to themotor shaft for rotationl thereby, and a pluralityl of cutters pivotallymounted on the carrier upon axes parallel with the axis of rotation ofthe carrier, the cutting edges of said blades being oisetcircumferentially of the carrier from the pivotal mountings of saidblades, whereby upon rotation of the carrier said blades will be urgedby centrifugal force into cutting relation with the surrounding guard'.

LAWRENCE E. DET'I'LE'.

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